Using Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide in the Field

PLEASE NOTE: To attend, you must (1) RSVP to reserve your spot (as this event will be limited to 11 participants) AND (2) send an email request to [david.behm.curiousbynature@gmail.com ](mailto:david.behm.curiousbynature@gmail.com)for directions as to where we will meet. My reply will also include a trail map for this outing.

For this outing, you’ll learn how to identify blooming wildflowers in their natural habitat using your personal copy of Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide (whether its cover is yellow or blue). As we encounter a blooming wildflower along our walk, we’ll use pages x-xiii to answer the following five questions, and then with that info, we’ll use pages 1-14 to direct us to the appropriate subsequent pages of this guide to reveal the identity of that wildflower.

Flower type:

1. Is the flower regular (radially symmetrical) or irregular or are the flower parts indistinguishable?
2. If regular, how many petals or similar parts does it have?
   Plant type:
3. Is the plant a forb or a shrub or a vine?
4. If a forb, is it without leaves, or if it has leaves, are they all at the base of the plant, or are they arranged singly on the stem (alternate), or are they opposite one another in pairs or whorls?
   Leaf type:
   5. Are the leaves entire (with even and unbroken margins), or are they toothed or lobed or divided?

Please join me for this hands-on outing at Veterans Memorial Park (Town of Clifton Park). We will walk along a mowed path and step off it into taller grassy areas and perhaps amongst some brushy areas along our route, so please wear proper attire and footwear.

I’ve scheduled this unique outing at this time to enable you to learn how to use this great information resource for the remainder of this wildflower season to identify the many blooming beauties yet to come.

Weather cancellation: This event will be cancelled if any of the following is occurring or is forecast for this destination at that time:

• thunderstorms (or any other severe weather),
• moderate or heavy rainfall (i.e., more than drizzle/mist or intermittent showers), or
• gusty or sustained winds (i.e., treetops are noticeably swaying back and forth).